Mable: Hey there! So, the poll is up on my profile if you want to go vote. I didn't have many options, but the ones that are there are there for a reason… I think? XD Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Can't Go Home Again

Chapter Thirty-Six

The Pizzeria was still buzzing with activity as Mike opened the door into the kitchen. "This is where the magic happens…" Mike had begun, but then stopped at the scene. The pantry was open, most of the stuff inside had been dragged out, and Fritz was hunched over in the doorway with a flashlight in his hands. "…And then hits the fan. What's going on?"

"She's in here somewhere," Fritz murmured as he shined the light around. With a huff, he pulled back and looked over, "Jeremy brought that thing- Natalie! Uh, hey, I didn't think you were coming by." Fritz was clearly caught off guard by the look on his face. Mike found his surprise odd, but didn't ask.

Natalie smiled back with a small wave, "Yeah, small world. Just learning the ropes." She took a glance towards Mike, as though gauging his reaction.

"Please tell me that Jeremy didn't bring the Minireena here," Mike muttered in clear exasperation.

"Then I won't tell you," Fritz quipped back and started to stand. "I cornered her in here somewhere. Could you look? I've got to go check on the pizza."

"Sure. This is what I get paid for," Mike agreed, catching the flashlight that Fritz tossed over to him. He then started to search through the pantry while Natalie helped Fritz with the pizza. The second he shined the light in the back, he was alerted by a soft giggling. "Jeremy's got to put a leash on this thing," Mike murmured to himself and then stepped over the dragged-out things and into the pantry. It didn't take too long to find Minireena back in the corner, hiding behind an unopened jar of pizza sauce. He got it around the middle and it fussily struggled in his grasp.

"Alright, here she is," Mike announced, toting the Minireena out. It fidgeted and fussed in disturbance at being held, kicking its legs and trying to pry off his tight grip. "Is there a place I can put her?"

"I'm about two minutes away from pulling Jeremy in here. He can figure it out," Fritz remarked as he continued to work. He was clearly not pleased with being stuck in the kitchen cooking the entire day. He could be heard murmuring, "We're hiring a chef. I don't care if I have to pay with my share; we're hiring a chef."

"She sort of looks like Mari," Natalie pointed out as she looked at the struggling ballerina.

"She does, but there's no relation," Mike explained as he watched her struggle. "…Though I would probably tote him around like this if he started having a tantrum." He gave a playful smirk. Natalie seemed to catch that it was a joke. Fritz just decided to give Mike an odd look.

As luck would have it, Jeremy popped into the kitchen at this moment. He went for the fridge and one of the birthday cakes that Marionette previously made. He came to a sudden halt as he noticed Mike standing with Minireena. The security guard lifted the doll and raised a brow in curiousness. Jeremy gave an awkward smile, "I, uh… I had to bring her in with me."

"For that, you're on kitchen duty," Fritz suddenly announced, still cutting a pizza apart. This followed with Mike tossing the small ballerina into Jeremy hands, where he then nearly coddled her close to him. He then promptly sat her down on a nearby counter, giving her almost firm directions to stay there, and continued to grab the birthday cake out of the fridge and removing the plastic from it.

"I can see why you need a few more staff members," Natalie replied in a flat, but amused way. Indeed, watching these three guys scrambling around, or two guys while Mike pointedly stood out of the way, was at least a little funny to her. "If you do need a cook I could try to find one, but with the… Situation with the animatronics, it'll not be as easy." Both Mike and Fritz knew that Natalie knew about the animatronics; Jeremy hesitated for a moment, but seeing the lack of reaction went along with it.

"Yeah, we could use all the help we could get. As long as they leave before closing," Jeremy added in with a lopsided smile as he pushed open the kitchen door. It immediately struck someone on the other side. He frantically looked to the other side, "Are you okay?! I didn't even-!" It only made it worse to realize that it was Marionette instead of a child, and he was clearly checking his face. "-I didn't even see you there! Are you okay?!"

Puppet waved him off, unable to speak in plain sight, and moved back under the track. He could only hope that Jeremy hadn't noticed that he was eavesdropping. His attention quickly shifted to the cake in the man's hands.

Jeremy glanced down at it as well, "It's birthday cake for party one... Uh…" He suddenly noticed the complete lack of candles topping it and offered it. "Could you just- for a moment?"

The Puppet slowly reached forwards and took the cake into his hands. Jeremy turned and headed into the kitchen while the animatronic, doing his job, immediately turned and followed the track towards the table. None of the children were actually sitting at the designated table any longer. They had eaten their pizza and now were enwrapped around Foxy, who was wandering around the room. Marionette had to physically block Foxy's path to get his attention; it only occurred to him now that his lack of voice on the floor would be a problem.

He had become too comfortable speaking, he supposed, but thankfully Foxy caught on abruptly. Cake, birthday party, kids; it all sunk in immediately.

"Aye, look lad! The birthday cake be arriving!" Foxy pointed out to the birthday boy, who stood out by the golden pom-pom on the top of his party hat. Foxy then looked to Marionette and, as casually as could be, remarked, "Hand over yer booty or walk the plank."

Marionette held back a chime at the remarkably straight way that Foxy had commanded him. Instead he began to chime in the tune of 'Happy Birthday', offering the cake. Some of the kids joined in eagerly, wanting to rush through and get to the chocolate cake presented before them. Foxy didn't sing, which was a relief as Marionette expected the Pirate Song to make its inappropriate return. Then again, the Pirate Song had never really been appropriate on the best days.

What followed was the sound of rapid footsteps followed by Jeremy stabbing a couple of candles into the top of the cake. He then fumbled with a lighter, rushing to light the candles before the song ending. Foxy couldn't emote much considering the scenario, but smugness was nearly pouring off him as Jeremy finally lit the candles and disappeared a few steps back. Marionette lowered the cake and watched as the boy blew out his candles. There was clapping, the boy's mother seemed to suddenly appear, and Marionette laid the cake down on the table.

He moved back and allowed Jeremy to step in and cut the pieces for the kids. With Jeremy doing the work, Foxy standing in as animatronic, and the mother being close enough that he couldn't let his guard down, Marionette decided to back out of the situation. Fritz was currently serving the other party their pizza, so he didn't directly want to approach them either. Thankfully, Mike and Natalie were still in the kitchen, so he didn't have to watch himself under the female's gaze. However, this did bring up the very peculiar question of why they were taking so long in the kitchen.

Part of him was almost ready to go listen at the door, or randomly teleport in from the Prize Corner and hope that it wasn't in Natalie's line of sight. Just knowing that they were in there doing something he couldn't see was, for lack of a better term, annoying.

This was immediately ignored when he noticed a fuss over in the arcade. Following the track over to the game area, he could see a group of three children standing around the crane game. At first, he just assumed that one of the children got frustrated with the game. The closer he got, however, the more he realized that it was a different situation entirely. They noticed him approaching and began to frantically explain. The two younger children talked too fast to understand, but the older boy who had been manning the crane game made the problem abundantly clear.

"Foxy's stuck, and it won't come down!" he voiced with disappointment. The crane game was a borrowed machine, so measurements weren't exactly taken. Thus, the Foxy plush sitting on top of the chute was a clear oversight. Technically the boy did win it, so the Puppet took this very seriously. There was nothing more disheartening than unhappy children. It wasn't good for business, morale, or simply in general. He laid his hands on the side of the machine and tried to give it a light shake.

The kids were watching closely, so telekinesis would not work in this situation. Not with the way that Foxy's overstuffed body sat on the chute. It didn't even flinch when he nudged it and Marionette considered his options. Eventually he came with a desperate, but more excusable one. He checked to make sure nobody was watching and, thankfully, any adults or parents were not paying attention. He started to let out his strings more and lowered down further, resting in a kneel on the floor. Then he started to reach inside.

The kids tried to help, they really did, with confused directions about what he needed to do. Marionette simply followed the inside of the chute upwards until his fingers brushed something soft. It had been remarkably easy and he went to pull it out. It was then that a completely different problem decided to appear. One that he knew would lead to more work than he had wanted. His shoulder wouldn't move; his string caught on something on the entrance to the crane game.

Marionette was now stuck.

Though mostly by his limited abilities while being watched. He considered his situation carefully; the kids were anxious and he needed them distracted so that he could work this out. He nudged the plush down with his hand and, once it was out of sight from the kids, tugged it with his telekinesis. He then grabbed it with his free hand and handed it over. The boy was thrilled, giving a quick 'thank you' and rushing off to show his parents. The younger kids followed him away. Now, perhaps, he could try to free himself.

His string has somehow caught itself in the metal seam right inside of the chute. Marionette wasn't going anywhere fast.

He dropped his head against the crane game, mentally berating himself for the awful idea of reaching in. At least the children were happy. It was when he stopped and listened that he noticed concerned chattering from a young girl nearby. It sounded like the girl who he knew from earlier, and it sounded like she was telling someone he was stuck. He could always count on her, he supposed, and he waited for either Jeremy or Fritz to free him from his prison. That was, until he noticed that both were still at the tables.

"I'm not going to lie; I was pretty much expecting something like this."

Marionette's head was back against the crane game. Of the few times that he didn't want to see Mike- and worse still it meant that Natalie was probably nearby too. It was a lose-lose situation, especially when Mike's flat comment sounded just a little too amused. The security guard crouched down beside him.

"Let's see what you got yourself stuck on…" Mike murmured as he coaxed the Puppet to lean forward. There was a clear smirk, but it was obvious that he did intend to free Marionette quickly. He almost immediately saw the issue and tried to work the string out, but it was not willingly releasing. It wasn't long before Mike had a solution; Marionette had completely given up on ideas once Mike got involved. He was just glad that he couldn't visibly blush… And if he could, he had paint already covering it.

"I'm going to 'release your strings' so you can pull this back in," Mike quietly murmured to him before standing and working with the track. Or, more so, pretending to detach Marionette's strings so that nobody noticed anything. Thankfully, he couldn't feel many sets of eyes on him, so Marionette assumed only a few people were watching. He nearly felt his body go rigid, but knew he had to fight it as he was supposed to stay entirely limp. He retracted his strings quickly and he was soon free, but now he couldn't move.

"I'm going to make an announcement and while I do that, you can reset- eh…" Mike instantly lost interest in his own plan. "Tell you what, I'll just tote you over to the Prize Corner."

Marionette's confidence was knocked down a few steps, but he had never argued with an excuse to be held. There was a more sadistic pleasure in it too. As Mike lifted him, slipping an arm behind his back and under his legs, he relished in the thought that he was keeping Mike away from Natalie. Mike was basically slacking on work to wander around with her; at least this counted as maintenance. And, again, Marionette never argued with an excuse to be held. It was hard to deny the joy of physical contact.

Mike brought him over to the Prize Corner; Marionette felt them pass Natalie on the way. Once inside, the security guard set him down. "Alright, time to get 'back on track'," Mike assumed that Marionette would be amused by the wording. Instead, the Puppet looked completely unamused. "...What's going on? Is this the silent treatment or are you still in character?" Mike already knew the answer, but Marionette's glare punctuated it further.

"Okay, you're upset about Natalie, but you had no intention of meeting her willingly and you know how tight we're running on staff. We need her to work here, she wants to work here, and this was the only scenario of getting the wheels turning," Mike went straight to the point.

"She makes me uncomfortable," Marionette protested in a low volume.

"Everyone makes you uncomfortable, Mari," Mike pointed out matter-of-factly. "And I know you don't like strangers, but Natalie is the closest thing we have to someone you know…" The male exhaled slowly, blue eyes glancing to the side, and then continued. "How about we make a deal? I don't want to have to do this, but… Meet Natalie," Mike began with, "and if you're still uncomfortable then we'll find someone else."

The suggestion was a complete shock to Marionette. He didn't expect Mike to back down, let alone to give him such power in this decision. "You… Would let me do that?"

"I swear," Mike swore, "but only if you actually meet her and make that decision afterwards."

"No strings attached?" Marionette continued, playing with words only slightly.

This got a slight smile out of Mike. "None whatsoever." He then crossed over towards the doorway, which in and of itself roused another reaction out of the striped animatronic.

"You don't have to go just yet, do you?" Marionette asked without thinking. "…By which I mean- Could you just stay here while I get 'back on track'?"

"I was planning on it. Just wanted to keep an eye out," Mike explained and peered out. "It's a madhouse out there. Bet Fritz wishes he was back in the kitchen now…" He smirked slightly, but then perked and looked back. "Hey, it's almost gift time, right? You're still going to take out the birthday presents to the kids, right?" He did seem moderately curious, as though the events earlier would stop him.

Embarrassed or not, nothing would stop Marionette from delivering gifts to children. "Course I am! I already have them ready to take out-," he latches his strings onto the track and then moved over to behind his box, "-back here. I didn't want any of the children seeing them before they were ready." He lifted one of the gifts; it being the familiar white wrapping with a red ribbon, as he was prone to wrapping.

"I think they're about ready now. Birthday boy's done with the cake and is starting to look a little antsy. He's probably about to bail from the table," Mike suggested as he watched Marionette bring out the proper gift. This, of course, was the one provided by the Pizzeria. The other gifts were on a gift table in the dining room. Marionette still clung to it as though it was the only gift, and, even with the commotion, Mike noticed that the puppet did look happy. Doing this simple task still made Marionette happy. "They're waiting for you."

"You just want a distraction so that you don't get sent to the kitchen," the Puppet playfully accused as he passed by Mike. He then braced himself briefly, hearing Mike give a brief, "You better believe it," and then headed out to deliver the birthday present. Giving that gift, like giving most gifts, felt overwhelmingly fulfilling to Marionette. He had forgotten how wonderful it was to do what he was made for.

But it couldn't last forever. Closing time snuck up quicker than he had expected. Shockingly, it was signaled by the arrival of a familiar face.

"Hi," the small girl who admired Marionette crept back into the Prize Corner. He was thrilled to see her, though surprised that she stuck around as long as she had. Come to think of it; he hadn't noticed her parents anywhere. Which was odd considering that they had been so concerned, or at least the mother had been, the night that she screamed. He decided not to dwell on it and instead dwelled on the many tickets she had brought into the room.

He wasn't exactly surprised that she could acquire a mass of tickets such as she did. Hours of playing games would naturally bring around the tickets. From the sheer amount of tickets, it seemed that she had more than enough money to pay for the tokens. Marionette eagerly took the tickets and counted through them while the girl approached the counter.

"Can I get one of those?" she quietly inquired as she pointed at the group of plush toys. Marionette took a moment to answer as he carefully checked over the tickets and deposited them inside his box. She had enough for the small ones, and even leftover tickets afterwards. He eagerly slipped out of his box and over to the wall of prizes. He pointed to a Foxy and looked at her with a tilt of the head.

"N-No… The other one," the girl pointed out further. Marionette pointed at the next variation of Foxy plush. "No," she stretched out with clear embarrassment. "The one that looks like you."

He couldn't tell if it was pride or joy, or even both, but Marionette didn't hesitate in yanking one of the plush toys off the shelf and eagerly handing it over. He was chiming in excitement, unable to stop the eager sound of the ringing as he watched her accept and hold her new toy. It was the first time anyone had wanted merchandise of himself and it felt so good. He pet her head and, while she jumped at first, she then smiled once more. She wasn't uncomfortable with him and this truly made him happy.

When she left, she was still hugging the doll as she waved goodbye, taking what was left of her tickets with her. Marionette eagerly waved back and watched her head out into the party room. He almost followed to make sure that she had parents to come get her, but was stopped when her place was taken by someone else.

There was Natalie, again, standing in the doorway. He had no doubt that Mike probably nudged her in there; mostly from the hesitant look on her face. Of course he would do it, as Mike and his deal still stood. One of them was going home with their dignity in shambles and this would… No, Marionette knew for a fact that it was his own dignity that had been shaken today.

"Hey! Uh… Just coming to check in," Natalie tied to sound casual as she stepped inside the Prize Corner. Her eyes were going everywhere except for onto him. "So, umm… This is a really nice place. It looks really professional, considering that you just opened." A few kids and a father passed the door, Fritz following with the keys to lock the front door. Now he would normally be able to fall out of character, except for Natalie. "A lot of prizes, too… That's pretty neat." Natalie's small talk was, at least, better than Jeremy's.

"…You don't have to talk if you're uncomfortable about it. I know I'm sort of a stranger, and I wouldn't even be bothering you if it wasn't for Mike nudging me," Natalie explained almost apologetically. This almost helped him feel less awkward. Though something immediately changed when she changed the subject. Looking at the wall of plush toys, she smiled and gave a new remark. "My cousin has a plush from the old Freddy's. It's Bonnie the bunny, but he's a light blue color."

That was what did it. That single sentence sealed both of their fates.

"That would be Toy Bonnie. The Toy line of animatronics all had plush toys, except myself, which were sold in slightly bigger forms. Now, Toy Bonnie only came in one style, but the original Bonnie came with and without the guitar, and in an Easter themed form. Freddy had multiple versions, naturally; Valentine's, Halloween, Christmas, normal, gold, black and white, and rainbow. There was a discontinued Balloon Boy plush with button eyes. The glue on the buttons was more than a little shoddy, so it was replaced with the all fabric Balloon Boy plush. This didn't sell very well, but the Foxy plush toys always did. There were actually five variations of Foxy at the time and they flew off the shelves. However, they had a habit of losing their hooks. This could be fixed by extra stitches added on the seam where the hook would meet the arm. Then there was Chica, who had four variations and both a Valentine's and Christmas version. Being the only female, she sold very well and was…"

By time Marionette had gotten control of himself, minutes had been lost to him babbling about plush toys. He barely realized that he had dropped his dead silence towards Natalie to lecture on stuffed animals, not actually realizing it until he had noticed that, at some point, Mike appeared in the doorway. The last of his dignity was sacrificed for a history on pointless Prize Corner knowledge.

Mike didn't even bother moving when Marionette abruptly cut off. He did raise a brow, as though questioning whether or not the Puppet would continue. By this point, Marionette assumed that he had done enough. He looked to Natalie, who hadn't spoke at all during his sporadic decision to teach, and then just turned and silently retreated to his box.

"Oh, you don't have to leave!" Natalie called after him. "I thought it was really interesting!" However, the striped male slid into his box and closed it behind him.

Mike now stepped in, "It's me, not you. I broke his concentration." He playfully remarked before crossing to the box and tapping on it. "If you've got anything to do, then you need to finish now. Once we get this place clean, I'm leaving, with or without you," he joked lightly. Though he was partially serious. Mike intended to leave as quickly as possible. He was starting to feel soreness in his back and knew that it was past time to replace his bandage. He looked to Natalie, "Ready to meet Foxy?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Natalie responded and followed him out. Honestly, she was a little less nervous meeting Foxy than she was meeting Marionette. After that odd display, she wasn't as concerned with the Puppet though. In the party room, Fritz was fiddling with an envelope, looking confused, and Jeremy was trying to juggle Minireena while cleaning cake from Foxy's arm.

"You've got to stop provoking them, Foxy," Jeremy quietly murmured. "How- How can this keep happening?" He sighed and nudged Minireena back, who was now climbing on his shoulder.

Foxy reached out and nudged the small ballerina with his hook, "Ya can always expect kids to get rowdy." He was talking about the kids but perhaps this could've been used for Minireena as well. The small doll didn't seem too comfortable with Foxy and stared him down. "Ya did good, lad! No wonder you be me first mate!" Foxy decided to praise with a heavy pat on the shoulder. Jeremy could only hope that it wouldn't bruise. They both noticed when Mike and Natalie approached.

"Foxy, this is Natalie. She already met Mari, so she already knows everything she needs to know," Mike brought to speed and then looked to Fritz. "What's that?"

"Ominous envelope," Fritz remarked.

"Probably for the rent," Mike murmured back, then shifted his attention on the others. He just assumed the envelope was nothing. "…If it's anything more serious, let me know." Fritz nodded, but seemed unbothered. He went to start cleaning in the meantime.

Foxy immediately introduced himself to Natalie. In a way, Jeremy was sort of surprised at his boldness around a new person. "It's a pleasure, Lass," Foxy introduced with a slight bow. "Captain Foxy be the title, and this be me ship…" He dramatically spread his arms and turned to direct one at the stage.

Mike coughed and casually added in, "She's seen better days, Cap'n." He then turned and started to clean off the tables, assisting Fritz who set the envelope aside for a moment. Unfortunately, the kids had left a mess in their wake. "We should've locked the doors and made the parents get this," Mike muttered to Fritz who gave a sigh of agreement. Jeremy moved to help, but Foxy suddenly decided not to let him go.

"Where ya goin', Lad? Ya haven't even introduced yourself!" Foxy encouraged and caught Jeremy's arm with his hook. Jeremy only stopped on a dime because he was afraid that the fox's sharp claw would tear through his shirt and flesh in one fell swoop.

"Foxy, I know Natalie. We met a while back," Jeremy responded matter-of-factly. Minireena, still on his shoulders, suddenly became disinterested and hopped down onto a table. She scurried away, knocking over a stack of dirty paper plates in her wake. "No, Daisy, come back…!"

"He already named it," Mike murmured under his breath to Fritz. He didn't expect Fritz to return it with an amused smile.

"You named yours," Fritz quipped. Mike slowly looked over with a flat look. "Oh, come on. You walked straight into that and you know it."

"One more word and you're cleaning this alone," Mike promised. However, this was soon disproven as Natalie stepped in to help in Jeremy's stead- he and Foxy were soon searching the kitchen for Minireena. It didn't take too long to finish. Eventually Marionette passed through into the kitchen and assisted the two already in there. By the end of the evening the kitchen was clean, Minireena was again caught, and with one last farewell Foxy was behind his curtain. Jeremy left soon afterwards.

Fritz decided to do a once over of the Pizzeria, and put away the funds, while Mike and Natalie went to leave. It was a cold night and Mike was feeling his muscle ache further, but he didn't want to leave without clarifying a few things. "So, is this going to work for you? It's… Hectic… But we could really use another hand if you're willing."

There was absolutely no doubt in Natalie's voice, "If I can handle splitting the night shift with you, then I can handle you here." She followed with a smile and a much brighter, "I'll be here tomorrow morning for opening. You should be careful driving home… Is Mari staying here?"

"He's already in the car," Mike pointed out. "And I'm not making any promises. I intend to drive the speed limit and swerve over both lanes." She gave a chuckle at the comment and started heading towards her car. Once she was safely inside he headed to his own car to head home. Some part of Mike forced him to make sure she got in the car alright, as though he wasn't alone out there, but he simply assumed it was his many years as a security guard making him uncomfortable.

Either way, he would feel better getting home.

Finally, Fritz was done. He rubbed his head tiredly and fumbled with the envelope. This was the last bit of business to attend to. He opened it and unfolded the letter inside. He expected a business letter or something, but instead it was a handwritten note. His eyes scanned it over. Then they scanned it over again. By the third time he realized exactly how confusing this letter was. It was as though someone was trying to meet with him, but it bounced back and forth between friendly and distant terms.

He didn't trust the words. He didn't trust the address at the bottom. Before he could consider any other options, he brings out his phone to get a second opinion.

"Why would Chipper betray us?! Betray the village?!"

"Bonnie, that isn't our friend in there! And the village… We'll have to find a new home."

Marionette was almost relieved when Mike's cell began to ring. He paused the video, fully regretting his decision to watch this season, and headed over to the table to answer the phone. Mike was in the bedroom, so he skipped the middle man and answered with the human's voice. "Hello?"

"Mike, it's me," Fritz answered. He sounded concerned about something and added in, "I need your opinion on this letter. There's something a little- I don't even know what this is."

Knowing it was Fritz, he immediately dropped the act. "Give me a moment. He's in the other room," Marionette spoke and then went to find Mike. Fritz let out a confused 'huh', but then caught on. Marionette knew what Mike's reaction would be if he realized that he was faking his voice to answer calls. He didn't want to give the security guard the wrong impression; it was simply quicker this way. Clutching the phone tightly, he teleported into the bedroom. "Mike, Fritz is on…" He cut off for only a moment.

At first, he thought he caught Mike at the worst possible time, seeing that Mike was not wearing a shirt. However, it became apparent quickly that he was changing his bandage. Still, it wasn't as though Marionette frequently saw him without his clothes on- at least without his shirt on- so he did get slightly flustered by it. Just enough to hesitate, but no more than that, "It's Fritz."

Mike raised a brow and reached for the cell phone, which Marionette handed over. The human tucked it against his shoulder so that he could try and keep bandaging his wound. "Hello?... What's going on?" He knew immediately that something had to be off. Unfortunately, his plan didn't work and he hand to hold the cell phone. It was moments like this that he missed having a house phone that was easier to balance without having to move too much.

Marionette didn't leave the room. Instead, he moved a little closer and studied the revealed wound on his back. It wasn't nearly as bad as it had been, but it was still visible. He knelt on the bed and reached forwards towards the set aside bandage.

"So, I opened the ominous envelope and inside is an equally ominous letter," Fritz explained as he looked over the note. "It says some weird stuff about the old Pizzeria… Or just mentions it, which is weird enough on its own. 'Smart decision to reopen without using the Freddy name'. I can tell if this is an actual compliment or what this is." He set the paper back down, "The whole thing's written like we're just old pen pals or something. Then, best part, asks me to meet them at a random address."

"What, to ambush you? I swear, these murderers are getting lazier and lazier," Mike quipped back. Joking aside, this did seem rather concerning. "It isn't just a letter from Glenn, is it?"

"Glenn would've signed the letter," Fritz pointed out. "Anyone not being purposely vague would've signed the letter. That… Raised some flags."

"Look, as long as you don't go anywhere you're fine. Just don't go-." Mike abruptly cut off in reaction as he felt movement against his wound. He flinched and looked back, only to watch as Marionette slowly applied the bandage to his skin. He smoothly massaged the patch down, making sure that it fully stuck to the wound. Mike exhaled in instant relief and mouthed a quick 'thank you'. "Don't go to the address. It sounds like an awful trap… Or a prank. Either way, don't fall for it."

"Right…" Fritz stared at the letter again. "…There's just something, one thing. Uh… Let me read this to you." He glanced it over once more. "It says, 'I need to speak with you about some things. Just past things, nothing concerning. Just something important from a long time ago. Nothing to really worry about. Here's my address; just knock loudly in case I'm in the back.' Does any of this make sense? It's important, it's not important. It's about the past, it's about some things. This is… You're right." He gave a slow exhale and finished, "This doesn't make sense. It's probably a prank."

"Or a murderer. We might have already acquired a stalker or something. Isn't that a great opportunity on our first day of business?" Mike tried to ease the mood, but in reality, he feared the worst. "Just don't go over there, alright?"

"I'm not, I'm heading home," Fritz explained. "I'll see you tomorrow. Remind Mari that we need two more cakes and a dozen cupcakes."

"He'll handle it, don't worry," Mike insisted as he glanced over towards Marionette, who was still staring at his back. "See you then. Stay safe and go home." Mike soon ended the call and set his phone onto the bedside stand. Suddenly he wondered if that feeling he had in the parking lot was something more than just a hunch, but he tried to push it into the back of his mind. It sounded more like someone who knew something than a prank, but he didn't trust either scenario very much.

Mike now turned his focus onto the animatronic beside him. It was seldom that the striped male would grow so still, especially after such an exciting day, but he wasn't even asking questions about the call. Mike took note of this, "Thanks for that… Is something wrong?"

"Mike…" Marionette began, staring at the covered wound on Mike's back. Just staring at it reminded him of the danger Mike had been put into so recently. He had almost died that night and yet just today the Puppet was throwing a tantrum over nothing. His feelings towards Natalie or not, Mike more than earned his chance to choose. "I'm… I'm sorry about earlier. I was unfair to Natalie and, most importantly, I was unfair to you."

Mike shrugged a little, seemingly unbothered, and continued moving to put a shirt on. "It's not a big deal, Mari. If you would've been that upset, then I would've explained to Natalie that it wouldn't work. Natalie's a nice girl; she wouldn't hold a grudge. She can find another job; the goal is to find someone who you're comfortable with." He noticed that Marionette had yet to give a judgement call, but assumed that the lack of one brought its own response.

"But why?" Marionette murmured in a slight challenge. "Mike, you've always had the business' best interest in mind. I'm only a part of this, a lesser part, so why would you risk that over something so… petty?" His quietness in tone revealed more of his apology. His shame was clear in his voice.

"Because," Mike turned back to him with an amused smirk. He was going to joke, Marionette knew this, but he didn't expect the security guard's answer. "You're the one I'm coming home with."

It was so simple, so reassuring, but it was as though it emotionally sunk into his fabric and grasped at his strings from the inside. Such a severe tightening inside his fabric for no discernable reason. The sentence was obviously a joke, it being a callback to an earlier joke, but it made him feel strange. Once again, Mike had left him in complete confusion.

"I'm going to go stand in front of the fridge and see if something stands out to me," Mike playfully added in and stood once more, stretching slightly. "You coming?" Marionette nodded in agreement and Mike headed down the hall towards the kitchen. However, Marionette didn't follow right away and instead lingered on the bed a few moments longer.

Perhaps Mike did have a point; what was the use in concerning himself with Mike's relationships when, in the end, it would just be them returning to this home? He didn't have to worry about who Mike was with, because they would be back here together. Yet, surprisingly enough, the feeling of clinginess he had for Mike wasn't exactly diminishing. If anything, its hold was tightening even stronger. Thinking back, Marionette knew that he hadn't had a problem with Natalie before. He hadn't even been that upset when she had been inside his home.

It was becoming very apparent to him that something changed down in the facility. He didn't know if it was what he saw or if it was what happened with Mike, but something was certainly different, and Marionette simply couldn't identify what it was.

Mable: "Want to see Foxy get a pirate ship? Want to see Jeremy's mother become Chica? Well then, remember to vote on the poll! Remember, we can't make this a thing unless you make this your thing!"
…And this is why I will never be able to work in advertising. XD But in all seriousness, it's just a feedback thing. I have a good deal of content planned, but I want to make sure everyone gets what they want as well.

Also, in case you're wondering, next week will be a Christmas themed chapter. I've been waiting for this moment since the Halloween plans got changed, so I'm a little excited. 83

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed and I'll see you next Saturday!